Motivation
ICT is one of the sectors that has the greatest impact in terms of energy consumption. The growth of the industry and the increasing demand for greater computing capacities and bandwidth create a significant footprint within organizations and as a whole.
Optimizing the energy and material efficiency of technology services is imperative for ensuring economic and environmental sustainability. The need for intelligent use of ICT for sustainability is naturally relevant to FCCN and its employees.
FCCN has a special position due to its role as a network provider for the research and education community. FCCN 's close relationship with higher education and research, as well as its advocacy of cutting-edge technologies and applications, leads us to take seriously our duty to adopt the best environmental practices and to promote appropriate network technology as an alternative to practices that act as major sources of pollution and harmful emissions.
We therefore aim to integrate the best environmental practices into our activities, maintaining an appropriate balance between environmental and economic considerations, working with all those involved to minimize waste and the carbon footprint.
In line with this concern, FCCN wants this policy to be based on three pillars: environmental, economic and social.
In a pre-analysis, both internally, of the practices that FCCN already adopts, and externally, to get a better idea of what is being done by other similar institutions, we found that, despite everything, we have already adopted a set of positive practices that allow us to move in the direction of a more sustainable path.
Specifically with regard to ECO.AP 2030 - the Public Administration Resource Efficiency Program, we concluded that we have currently complied with around 56% of the actions proposed for the program and we expect to comply with a further 33%.
By analyzing the Environmental Footprint report of FCCN carried out in 2016, some conclusions were drawn (which were expected), such as the fact that electricity is the largest source of contribution to the value of this footprint, followed by car use.
Already this year, some data has been collected to calculate the current Footprint, which will allow us to better define objectives and targets.
An internal questionnaire was also carried out, with 49% of responses, which made it possible to ascertain some measures that employees already adopt both at work and in their personal lives, as well as suggestions for practices that they would like to see implemented. In general, it led to the conclusion that a large proportion (of respondents) are aware of the issue of sustainability and are involved in actions in this area.
Commitment
FCCN undertakes to:
- Apply responsible standards in areas not yet covered by existing laws and regulations;
- Report the environmental footprint and be transparent about how it is made up;
- We consider environmental issues in all our activities, from day-to-day operations to events, through the purchase of goods and services, and in the management of equipment during the normal course of business, seeking to minimize energy consumption;
- Develop and promote the use of services that naturally reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by replacing and optimizing the effects of ICT as an environmentally positive alternative;
- Observe the use of resources pragmatically and carefully, always trying to reduce waste as much as possible;
- Promote the use of appropriate ICT services as an environmentally positive alternative and work to collaborate on service innovations in order to collectively contribute to sustainable operations and development;
- Encourage and support employees to adopt more sustainable practices, positively influencing simple ideas to save energy, such as making conscious travel plans;
- Saving energy by monitoring energy use and identifying sources of energy waste (ensuring that equipment is switched off when not in use, for example);
- Reuse and recycle whenever possible and adopt responsible ways of disposing of waste or surplus, including electronic waste;
- Sharing experiences with the community to promote wider improvements in environmental issues;
- Choosing suppliers that meet sustainable standards and maintain these concerns, and encouraging other suppliers to improve their environmental standards through procurement and service level contracts;
- Strive to obtain green certification;
- Implementation of a health and well-being policy for employees;
- Promote training in the area of sustainability.